Stock sized Shocks on a 2.5" lift!! Really PO!?

[horhay25]

Finally got around to ordering new Bilsteins for the truck. I installed the fronts yesterday and when i pulled out the old shocks, noticed that they were 18/19" fully extended, which according to a little bit of research is what stock height bronco shocks are when extended. I have a 2.5" lift!

Not really sure if I would have noticed anything as I haven't taken it to the trails yet..maybe just not full extension on my suspension...

In any case, the bilsteins are a definite improvement, and i've only installed the fronts!

 

[DirtDonk]

Glad you've already seen an improvement. Used to see a lot of guys trying to save money by either waiting to buy the longer shocks, or thinking they didn't need them.

Sometimes you see that when someone sells a rig too. They swap out their nicer, longer shocks for another rig or to sell separately.
Either way, glad you got it dialed.

And yes, depending on the shocks, it can work just fine for street and mild use, but as you figured, you sure lose some of your suspension travel capability!
Now we can't wait to hear what you think about the rears.

Paul

 

[Bronco Junkie]

Glad you've already seen an improvement. Used to see a lot of guys trying to save money by either waiting to buy the longer shocks, or thinking they didn't need them.

Sometimes you see that when someone sells a rig too. They swap out their nicer, longer shocks for another rig or to sell separately.
Either way, glad you got it dialed.

And yes, depending on the shocks, it can work just fine for street and mild use, but as you figured, you sure lose some of your suspension travel capability!
Now we can't wait to hear what you think about the rears.

Paul

Paul - Since you are in this thread I have a related question. What shocks (part #) would come in a WH 2.5" lift kit?

 

[Broncobowsher]

I have intentionally used shocks that would (slightly) limit rear droop. That was to protect the rear driveshaft CV. Longer rear shocks would have allowed the CV to over angle during rotation and damage itself. A much more expensive driveshaft would have been needed for only an inch or so of gained down travel the springs had left in them.

 

[DirtDonk]

Paul - Since you are in this thread I have a related question. What shocks (part #) would come in a WH 2.5" lift kit?

If I'm not mistaken, for stock mounts and a 2.5" lift, the individual shock numbers are BIL88115 for the front and BIL88116 for the rear.
The "kit" of four is our BIL88001

You can see the specs on our website for those particular individual shocks. Looks like it's not too much longer than what you had (assuming the same measuring method), so not way out of line.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

I have intentionally used shocks that would (slightly) limit rear droop. That was to protect the rear driveshaft CV....

Not a bad idea either. Was that with a taller lift, or just around 3.5 or so?
I've done the opposite with mine. The rear shocks especially were biased to the longer side to allow the suspension to flex more. I figured with my 3.5 and the angles that stuff was at, this would not be an issue for the driveshaft.

In it's initial setup, I'm sure I would have never approached the limits since my still stock parking brake cables were definitely the limiting factor. Once I changed those for longer, things still seemed to work well in my circumstances.

Paul

 

[Broncobowsher]

Not a bad idea either. Was that with a taller lift, or just around 3.5 or so?
I've done the opposite with mine. The rear shocks especially were biased to the longer side to allow the suspension to flex more. I figured with my 3.5 and the angles that stuff was at, this would not be an issue for the driveshaft.

In it's initial setup, I'm sure I would have never approached the limits since my still stock parking brake cables were definitely the limiting factor. Once I changed those for longer, things still seemed to work well in my circumstances.

Paul

It was a 3½" lift combined with a transmission swap that pushed the transfer case back about 3". The shocks were longer for use with a lift but don't remember how long they were. When putting everything together I had to compress the rear spring to get the shocks on. Then put it on jackstands to get full droop. Started bolting the driveshaft on and spun the shaft after it was bolted to the transfer case but not the pumpkin. The CV has notches where the max angle varies depending on how the inner parts line up. At the min angle of the CV the shaft was only an inch or so below the yoke. That looked like a good sign that I shouldn't let the axle droop any more. Also had a torque arm that prevented pinion rise and fall with power/engine braking. Ran for tens of thousands of miles that way and was still working good when sold.

A few years before a coworker had a Jeep with stupid tall lift on it. He could never keep more than one driveshaft at a time in it. Figured he was bending the guts of the CV when he flexed out. He refused to lower it and never had enough money to fix the CVs correctly to high angles. So he spent twice what he should have on shafts to keep getting them rebuilt. Last I saw before he quit was so much of the drivetrain was torn up it was undrivable. My lesson out of it was I could tell how a little excess angle on a CV will cause self destruction.